Chapter 448: Withdraw troops and set up an ambush, Kong Ming cuts off the rear
Author: Playing with Basilisk
In mid-August of the seventh year of Zhang Wu, after burying the late emperor and handling some official duties, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, personally went north to the front line of Henan.
At this time, Henan was without a leader, and the morale of the generals and soldiers was extremely low due to Liu Bei's death.
During this period, Cao Wei stopped fighting and retreated for more than ten miles without taking advantage of the situation to launch an attack.
They did not attack not because of martial ethics and thought it was not good to attack during Liu Bei's funeral, but after analyzing the pros and cons, they felt that a forced attack would not be advantageous.
First of all, the Han army has become a mourning army due to Liu Bei's death. This does not mean that the mourning army will definitely win, but its combat ability is definitely not worse than that of Cao's army, not to mention that they still fight at the camp.
Secondly, Cao Wei believed that even if he attacked by force, he might not be able to win, so it was better to take advantage of this moment to seize the east and west fronts, so he simply did not rush to attack the troops, slowed down the offensive, and focused his main energy elsewhere.
Under this strategy, Cao Pi sent an envoy to Xiangyang in the south to express condolences to Liu Bei, and at the same time discussed with Zhuge Liang a request for both sides to stop fighting and make peace.
Zhuge Liang agreed to stop the war, and neither side signed any peace treaty.
The current situation is not a confrontation between the north and south of Song and Liao, but the south is urging the Northern Expedition, and the north also has the intention of annexing the world.
Both sides are just seeking internal recuperation for a short period of time, waiting to fight again in the future. If they sign some kind of peace covenant, aren't they making themselves uncomfortable?
The Han Dynasty placed great emphasis on trustworthiness.
Why did Cao Shuang believe Sima Yi?
That's because Sima Yi pointed at Luo Shui and swore not to touch him.
As a result, Sima Yi broke the agreement, which caused the direct collapse of trust and loyalty. The oath and treaty became waste paper from then on.
But before Sima Yi, both sides still retained their national credibility, so the two sides had a tacit understanding and just stopped fighting and made peace. As for when they would fight again, it would depend on when both sides launched a sudden attack.
The initiative is still in the hands of the upper management on both sides.
However, Zhuge Liang did not really believe in Cao Pi when he said he wanted to make peace with his troops. He knew that if the troops retreated in an orderly manner and there was no opportunity for Cao's army to take advantage of, then it would be called a peace treaty.
If there is chaos when withdrawing troops and the troops and horses are not unified, it is impossible for Cao Jun not to take this opportunity to launch a surprise attack.
After all, why not take advantage if you can?
Therefore, Zhuge Liang was extremely cautious. He and Zhang Fei arrived at the front line with Wang Ping's 5,000 men and began to plan the withdrawal of troops.
August 19th was the Mid-Autumn Festival. The weather was dry and the autumn wind was bleak.
It's still a bit hot during the day, but it gets cooler at night. The sky is dotted with stars, like a tablecloth dotted with countless rays of light. The moon hangs in the sky like a silver plate, reflecting the earth like a Milky Way.
The main camp of the Han army in Fenqiu was located on the south bank of Yingshui River. Zhuge Liang had just returned from patrolling the camp. He arrived at the camp in the morning and then inspected the entire camp.
From the northwest to the southeast of Yingshui, there is a diagonal line that stretches for more than 20 miles. The main force is about 50,000 people.
Then in nearby Xiangcheng, Yingyang, Sicheng and other places, there are still tens of thousands of horses and horses. The total number of people on the entire front line of the Han army reaches 130,000. If auxiliary soldiers, craftsmen and farmers are included, the number is close to 300,000.
.
Such a large and bloated fortress, in the absence of a general, is almost entirely supported by Liu Bei's group of elite counselors and generals.
It is already very difficult to maintain, and it is difficult to continue the attack.
Zhuge Liang is sitting on the main seat in the camp. Below him are Zhang Fei, Pang Tong, Fazheng, Gan Ning, Lu Chang, Wu Yi, Wu Ban, Gao Xiang, Dong Jue, Feng Xi, Zhang Nan, Zhang Ren, Wang Ping and other generals.
.
They are all a bunch of old men.
Zhuge Liang is the youngest here, forty-six years old this year, and the others, including Fazheng, are fifty-one years old.
Fazheng was not in good health. He was a bit arrogant and had a vindictive temperament. Such people tend not to live long. On the contrary, Pang Tong had a gentler and kinder temperament and looked much younger than Fazheng.
Zhuge Liang looked around at everyone, gently shook his feather fan and said: "It has been nearly two years since the Northern Expedition. General Hussar took Guanzhong from the west, and General General took Huainan from the east. We have already taken a great advantage. However, after the death of the late emperor, the loss of food and grass was excessive, and the people's livelihood in the country was gradually declining.
In order to protect our great cause and defend our hard-won victory, I think we should withdraw our troops and return to Nanyang, what do you think?"
"Retreat? Are you going to retreat like this? We finally attacked Henan."
"Prime Minister, should we reconsider this?"
"The Di newspaper said that before his death, the late emperor shouted three times for the Northern Expedition. His long-cherished wish was to defeat Cao Wei and revive the Han Dynasty. Can he retreat so easily?"
Some generals were talking a lot.
Although the war has been going on for a year and a half, nearly two years, both the generals and the soldiers are relatively tired, and their fighting spirit is actually far less than the high morale and high morale of the soldiers when they first started the Northern Expedition.
But because of the victories on the western and eastern fronts, their main force on the center line has been holding back their energy.
Why can't they win even though both sides have won?
So if we think about it from a rational point of view, now that the war has reached this point, both sides are struggling and it is difficult to have the ability to make a breakthrough. It is indeed a good choice to retreat.
But from a perceptual point of view, the soldiers on the central line in Henan did not want to retreat just like this. They were really unwilling to do anything because they had no success.
Only Zhuge Liang shook his head and said: "I know that the soldiers want to fight Cao Jun to determine the winner, but now is indeed no longer the time to continue the attack. You must understand that I don't want to retreat either. However, if we continue to attack now, our national strength is almost over.
Can't hold on."
Although I have been recuperating for three years, the war for more than a year can be said to be a gold-swallowing beast. Countless money, food, baggage, and equipment have been spilled. By now, the treasury has been mostly empty. If I can't go back, I'm afraid it will be exhausted soon.
"Cough cough cough"
Fazheng coughed twice and said: "Retreat. It is indeed time to retreat. Since His Majesty has already agreed to withdraw, you should abide by it and continue to march in the future."
"well."
Zhang Fei let out a long sigh and said: "I don't want to retreat, but my eldest brother asked me to listen to the Prime Minister's words, so I will retreat."
"It seems we can only retreat."
"Whether it's good to retreat, the soldiers are indeed tired both physically and mentally."
"Then just listen to the Prime Minister's orders."
The generals said nothing more.
Now that the retreat has been decided, it is obviously impossible to say that the soldiers still have the will to fight.
So retreating may indeed be a good choice.
Fazheng said in a deep voice: "It is indeed the most correct and necessary thing for us to withdraw our troops and go back to recuperate. However, Cao Wei has lost Guanzhong and Huainan and will not give up easily. They will find a way to take it back."
"Um."
Zhuge Liang nodded and said: "General Hussar and I think so too, so at this time General Hussar has returned to Guanzhong, and the general is also rushing to Huainan. The army has returned to Nanyang and is connected with Guanzhong. The navy is stationed in Xiakou and can be ready at any time."
We can rush to help Huainan, but the most important thing now is to recuperate and accumulate strength for the next Northern Expedition."
Pang Tong said: "But now that the army has been deployed, if we want to retreat, it may cause some chaos in the army. If Cao Wei takes advantage of the situation to pursue us, what should we do?"
"Let me discuss this matter with Xiaozhi and Shiyuan."
Zhuge Liang thought for a moment and said, "Everyone, please go back to your respective camps and wait for orders."
"yes."
"I will finally retire."
"Then let's go back first."
Many generals stood up and left, ending the military meeting.
After everyone left, Pang Tong asked Zhuge Liang: "Kong Ming, what are your plans?"
Zhuge Liang stroked his beard and said: "I think it is unlikely that Cao Wei will let us go like this. They will probably send people to monitor us. If the troops are in good order, they will naturally not dare to attack. If there is a little chaos, they will send troops immediately.
We are attacking each other."
"Well, I think so too."
Pang Tong said: "The current situation is more than 100,000 troops, plus nearly 300,000 civilian auxiliary troops. It may not be that easy to evacuate at once. A little carelessness may cause chaos. Cao Wei now has many
Where are the cavalry?"
"snort."
Fazheng snorted coldly: "We also have a lot of cavalry, how can we be afraid of them? In my opinion, we should not simply set up an ambush. When retreating, let the cavalry retreat, and once they attack, teach them how to look good."
Zhuge Liang said: "This is a way, but it depends on our intention, whether we want to retreat safely or whether we want to take a risk."
It's easier to retreat safely.
As long as the troops are strictly organized and the generals and soldiers at all levels can evacuate in an orderly manner, Cao's army will naturally not pursue them if they see no opportunity to take advantage of them.
But if you want to set up an ambush, you have to deliberately expose some flaws.
Just like when he was marching out of Qishan in history, Zhuge Liang pretended to continue to besiege Qishan, but in fact he suddenly retreated. This made Sima Yi think that something happened behind Zhuge Liang, so he sent Zhang He to chase him. As a result, he ambushed Cao's army at the wooden gate and killed Zhang He.
The only problem is to control an army of more than 100,000 people and to retreat together with nearly 300,000 people. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain certain loopholes so that the enemy can take advantage of them. This is very difficult.
If you are not careful, your game may crash, causing unimaginable consequences.
For example, Ma Su.
He thought that stationing in the mountains could stimulate the fighting spirit of the soldiers and have the effect of a last-ditch battle. However, he failed and directly defeated himself.
So playing like this is a double-edged sword.
Fazheng said without hesitation: "If they don't hurt Cao Jun, how can they not know how powerful we are? It doesn't hurt to take some risks. Didn't General Hussar send Liangzhou Iron Cavalry over? Could it be that such an army cannot complete the task?
The mission after the break?"
Pang Tong had worked with Fazheng for so long and knew that his character liked to take the wrong approach. He shook his head and said: "It's better not to cause trouble. It is already very difficult for an army of more than 100,000 to retreat calmly. There is no need to do this."
"Shiyuan, you are just timid. Sometimes you have to make a decision when you need to make a decision. You can't be afraid to make a decision just because something unexpected may happen."
Fazheng said dissatisfied: "You should understand that if Cao's army comes to pursue, they will not send only a few people. If the ambush is successful, they can severely damage Cao's army and even defeat their cavalry. In this way, in the future Northern Expedition, there will be less
How many obstacles?”
"That's the truth."
The old god Pang Tong said: "But there is nothing wrong with being cautious. If it is not done well, it can easily affect the three armies. Kong Ming, what do you think?"
The ball was kicked to Zhuge Liang again.
He pondered.
In fact, if he could allow more than 100,000 troops to retreat safely, he was already a top-notch general in ancient and modern times.
Being able to retreat in an orderly manner while also calmly setting up ambushes is probably one of only a handful in the entire history of the Three Kingdoms, or even in the entire history of China.
Zhuge Liang was leading an army for the second time so far, and he was actually a little hesitant about whether he could do this.
After a moment, he said: "If there is an ambush, what does Xiao Nao plan to do?"
Fazheng suddenly became energetic and said: "If the three armies want to retreat, the main force in the front must withdraw first. The left and right wings will cover the main force, and the main force will cover the civilians, auxiliary troops, and craftsmen with their baggage. Only in this way can the troops withdraw slowly."
"Um."
Zhuge Liang nodded, this is the right reason.
Unless they don't want the baggage, otherwise the baggage must be withdrawn first.
Fazheng continued: "I planned to deliberately throw away some baggage, so that Cao Jun would think it was a "bait" trick, and the main force would evacuate in a hurry. They would definitely not pick up the baggage and pursue our main troops all the way. At this time, the cavalry suddenly rushed out, and they must
Can defeat Cao's army."
"The "bait" plan?"
Zhuge Liang thought for a moment and said, "This seems to be Xun Gongda's plan to kill Wen Chou."
"good."
Fazheng nodded: "The difference is that Wen Chou fell into the trap because of his recklessness and ignorance. Cao Jun was not stupid enough to fall into the trap, but he didn't know that it was a trap within a trap."
Pang Tong objected: "But Cao's army is not so stupid that they don't know that we have cavalry. Their cavalry is chasing behind them. Aren't they afraid that our infantry and cavalry will counterattack and encircle us?"
"Hmm"
Fazheng thought for a moment and said, "If they don't fall into the trap, we can evacuate calmly."
"Losing some baggage in vain?"
Pang Tong asked back.
"this"
Fazheng was left speechless by the rhetorical question.
If the enemy is not fooled, a lot of baggage will indeed be lost.
Pang Tong smiled and said: "It's good to retreat safely like this."
Zhuge Liang thought for a while, then chuckled and said: "In fact, it is not impossible to give Cao Jun a counterattack."
"oh?"
Fazheng said hurriedly: "What do Kong Ming think?"
Zhuge Liang said: "There is no need for two wings to cover the retreat. Let's order the two wings to cover the civilians and craftsmen and go back. I will personally lead the main force to break up the rear. Cao's army will probably pursue them. If there is a surprise attack at this time, they should be able to defeat them."
"Kong Ming personally cuts off the queen?"
Pang Tong was surprised and said: "But I remember that Kong Ming only led troops in Nanzhong. Fighting against Cao Wei is not the same thing as fighting in Nanzhong. Can Kong Ming command the three armies well?"
Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "It's probably no problem. If Cao Pi knew that I was commanding the troops, he wouldn't miss this opportunity."
"oh?"
Fa Zheng wondered: "Kong Ming is so sure."
Zhuge Liang looked at the north with deep eyes and said: "Even Xiaozhi and Shiyuan think I am not qualified, let alone Cao Pi?"
The world only knows that Kong Ming has been governing the country from the rear, and he only led troops to pacify Nanzhong.
But they don’t know that Liu Bei’s capture of Jingzhou in his early years relied almost entirely on Zhuge Liang’s military leadership.
At that time, he was already a military staff officer, and the army was well managed, but he only led the army alone once in Nanzhong.
If Cao Wei felt that Zhuge Liang had no experience in leading troops and underestimated him, it would be a big mistake.